Alpheus Chewning is a Virginia Beach author, folklorist, ghost-walk guide, and living historian with a focus on Chesapeake Bay pirates, the Civil War, & regional hauntings. In this episode we get a taste of what it would have been like aboard a pirate ship during the Golden Age of Piracy [1680 - 1730]. We learn about their egalitarian ethics, ship contracts & recruitment; what they ate; how they slept; using the bathroom; their clothing; flag pictograms & symbolism; superstitions & common phrases; the dividing of treasure; and of course, their brutal yet creative guerrilla battle tactics. When it comes to story time, Al recounts the tale of Blackbeard's curse upon the legendary treasure buried at today's First Landing State Park. His second story, which also blends history & folklore & dates to the early 18th century, is a potent parable about a beautiful & eccentric animal-whisperer/plant healer who was accused of being a witch by her neighbors. The last third of the episode is dedicated to local hauntings: ghosts' participation in a Civil War reenactment; a profound theory about past lives, & more. From the first colonist ships, to Indian graves & pirate battles, we end back at the storied First Landing State Park as Al speaks of his paranormal investigation of a young woman's ghost. Pirates, witches, and ghosts, this episode is beach campfire gold!
Check out Al's Histories & Haunts Facebook, his books on Virginia Beach, and if you're in the area, join one of his guided ghost walks. To learn more, watch Al's cameo in The Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay documentary or read his recommendation of the best book on the topic.
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